With the inclusion of electronic networks on motorized vehicles, it has become necessary to transmit the data from the vehicle network to a remote location. Typically, the vehicle network is interfaced with personal computers or PC gateways for data acquisition, computer-based measurement, and automation systems from the vehicle network. However, when hardware components are upgraded, existing software can become non-compatible with the upgraded hardware. Manufacturers of various tools attempted to remedy these compatibility problems by using a box to talk to multiple data links. This was not very satisfactory and a better solution to this problem was needed.
Therefore, it is desirable to develop an adapter which is capable of communicating with multiple vehicle protocols and connectors to transmit diagnostic data from a vehicle network to a host computer.